Dark Side Of Love

Love is beautiful and pure. But just like the moon, it has its own phases: the bright and the dark. 

The dark side?

1. You bare your soul to that person. Tell him/her all your secrets, show them all your sides, bring out the child in you. You lower your guards and make yourself vulnerable to that one person.
2. You invest so much time and energy in planning your future together, come up with nicknames, cute words and build your happy world.
3. You forget your self respect, your self esteem and your own importance simply because the other person is important to you too.
4. Memories cannot be blocked.
5. Cant eat. Cant sleep. Cant study.
6. You cannot believe it's over when you recall all those promises that were made to you. A part of you will always tell you that maybe all of this is a dream. Only it isn't.
7. You are emotionally handicapped and romantically paralyzed for an indefinite period of time. You cannot trust anyone again. Love scares you for a while. You build walls of iron around you.
8. It doesn't fade away when you want it to. The more you try to forget what happened, the more you will get reminded of it.
9. The constant dilemma- Should I move on or should I hold on?
10. Wet pillows. Wet bedsheet. Wet notebooks. Some people can't even cry.
11. Basically, you have to die in order to move on.
12. You start to fear falling in love again.

And let me tell you, the quantity of youth succumbing to these negatives is huge. Only a few, who get mature or sensible enough to understand, respect and move on, flourish. But why such negatives win over the positives of being in love? Remember, to remember the good :)

Book Review #97 : Demons In My Mind

Title: Demons in My Mind 

Author: Aashish Gupta 

Genre: Fiction 

Publisher: Kalamos 

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 224 

COVER : I loved the simplicity of the cover, not too much in display but surely appealing. It’s the kind of cover that would make readers like me to pick the book only for the cover.

BLURB : The blurb is informative, just what provides a clear insight regarding the content of the book, not too revealing, just the perfect amount of information.

FONT : Its a fat book with a well spaced font, which is a big yay for me. Though the number of pages are 224, the well spaced font is that what led to the increase in the number; the book is easy to read.

The book is written in a simple yet captivating language, it holds in itself some beautiful pieces of poetry which flaunt the author’s fine storytelling skills.

This a novel which has every potential to cut through the humongous number of desi authors flooding the market with cheesy, chick-flick stuff. It’s a good, intellectual read which challenges the reader and brings forth some very relevant questions in quite an entertaining way. 

The book deals with heavy questions of criminal psychology and how a criminal should be treated in a society. This book is divided into various sub plots, all woven intricately, so together, it can provide enough suspense to the reader.

“Demons in My Mind” tries to make us understand human emotions in a better manner, emotions like anger, anguish, pride, hatred, etc. through three major stories entwined with the plot surrounding Dakshesh. 

The protagonist, Dakshesh is shown to be at the last stage of cancer nearing a painful death. To be relieved of this malady, this pain, he asks his comrades to take him to three powerful mystics who seem to be the only ray of hope for an escape from this end. The story seems to be going on a spiritual turn just when the twists are brought in, and these three are shown to be in real hardened criminals. They narrate their stories to Dakshesh and how they came to a fork in the road in their lives on meeting Alia, a homeless girl, when they made the decision to leave their dark pasts behind and move to a better path.

It is these three monks who narrate their own stories, and from their own experiences, show us a side of humanity that majority of us have never been acquainted with.

The author manages to highlight very important factors that bring a person to such a path. You see the happiness, the fame, the satisfaction, all ruined when the demons reign. The author, dedicates his work to those similar to him, to those who have demons in their minds.

It consists all elements that most of us readers seek in a book. Surprise, thrill, emotional touches, and a kick to our minds in the end. This book is full of them. From early chapters till last page, this book continued to amaze me. 

NEGATIVES : The book is just perfect. But, there are some spelling errors, typos and the story can get a bit confusing if you’re not paying close attention. I would suggest to take breaks while you’re reading this book.

VERDICT : The plots are dark and quite unbelievable at times, all suggesting that heinous crimes are nothing but a harvest of the uncontrolled minds. Coming from an Indian debut author, I congratulate the author for achieving a feat most debut Indian authors fail miserably at. His extensive vocabulary and the imagination fuels suspense scene after scene.

Overall, this book is a great read, which entertains and sometimes sends chills to your spine. A great work by debut author and I strongly recommend this book to every thriller lover. 

RATING - 4.8/5

Book Review #96 : The Accident on the A35

Author Name: Graeme Macrae Burnet 

Book Title: The Accident on the A35 

ISBN: 9781925603057 

Year of Publication: 2017 

Publisher: BEE Books 

The Accident on the A35 is, according to the preface, the translation of an unpublished Brunet manuscript, released after his mother’s death. 

The book centres around detective George Gorski and the small, seemingly dead end town of Saint Louis in which he lives. When the book opens, Gorski’s wife has left him and he is called to the scene of a car accident on a nearby road. The scene appears to be an open and shut case but there are some odd details and Gorski allows himself to be charmed by the dead man’s widow into investigating further. At the same time, the dead man’s son Raymond, after finding an address in his father’s drawer of a house in a nearby town, is also both investigating and trying to grow up. 

The Accident on the A35 is written in the mould of a classic French crime novel, it is intensely focussed on the characters of Gorski and Raymond and is less about the solution to the crime, if indeed there is one, than the impact that the events surrounding the death have on them. Gorski gets caught up with an unsolved crime in a nearby town and Lambert, the shonky detective running the case. Raymond finds himself shoplifting and becoming obsessed with a girl called Delph who lives in the block of apartments that he has been watching. 

Crafting a crime novel that is more about the effects of a crime and its investigation and resolution than a crime itself. But this device does provide another, potentially deeper layer to the text and the end notes invite the reader to consider how autobiographical the fiction is in relation to the life of Raymond Brunet. 

It’s slow, atmospheric, often surprising, with a denouement which is beautifully under-played. One should also say it is daring, for it is rash to venture into the territory of a master-novelist. I found it enjoyable, a very nice piece of craftsmanship, and hope that Burnet may yet discover other unpublished novels by the hitherto obscure Raymond Brunet. 

What’s impressive about Burnet’s new novel is the way in which even though both of his main characters – Gorski and Raymond – are pushed to extremes, tested almost to destruction, their interior lives remain credible throughout. Mad, or blurred with drink, or both, but definitely credible. Which takes some doing.

VERDICT- This book reads like a lavishly detailed, psychologically accurate, intelligent, well-plotted, unsimple Simenon. To be honest this one started out slow, but once I got into it, boy was I rewarded! I think it took me awhile to get used to the writing, but in saying that, the clever writing was lovely, just a different style to what I've been used to. Graeme Macrae Burnet truly has a style all of his own. An enjoyable and quick read. I really rate Graeme Macrae Burnet as a very clever contributor to the development of the literary detective genre. He’s inspired and inspiring to read. 

Rating - 4.5/5

Power Of Thoughts - 5 Ways To A Good Day!

We go to sleep each night and wake up in the morning to a new day with new opportunities - a day filled with the power and freedom to choose. The minute we wake up, we can choose to get out of bed and make the most of our day or press the snooze button, roll over, pull the blankets over our head, and feel dread about the day ahead. This is nobody's choice but ours. Generally, the way we start our day influences how we feel for the rest of the day.

5 ways in which I start my day off on a positive note:

1. When you wake up in the morning, take a few minutes to check-in (go within). Take a few deep breathes and find something that you're grateful for (your children, partner, your health, the warm bed you are in, nature outside your window). Take this time to be thankful for all that you have in your life instead of wasting your energy on thinking about what you don't have.

2. Instead of pouncing straight out of bed, spend 5 to 10 minutes (or however long it takes) meditating. Simply observe your breath. Breathe in for a count of 4 to 5, allowing your belly and chest to expand, and breathe out also for a count of 4 to 5 allowing everything to drop away. Notice how your breath enters your body, notice how your breath leaves your body, and notice the little pause between each breath. This will allow you to create a sense of peace within and it will also help get you into a good head space before your feet touch the ground.

3. Take a few moments while in the shower and/or while eating breakfast just to be present. Feel the water on your skin, taste the different flavours in your food. It feels good and it's an amazing way to consciously set your energy and intention towards your day.

4. Before breakfast have large glass of water with half a lemon squeezed into it and you may even like to add some ginger. This will assist with digestion and is effective in body cleansing and detoxification - it will help get things moving. Follow this with a nutritious breakfast to kick-start your metabolism and fuel your body to face the day ahead. You have just had maybe ten to twelve hours of fasting - your body needs sustenance and is ready to be refuelled, so skipping breakfast is a big no, no!

5. Get clear about your intentions for the day. For example you can intend to have a productive day. You can intend to have quality time with your family and friends with no distractions. You can intend to have a fun and brilliant day. You can intend to have a calm and peaceful day. You can intend to learn something new or be helpful to someone. Whatever it is just be clear about what it is you want your day to be. In order to create, manifest, and attract it, you must first align your heart, mind, and spirit with your intention. In other words, you truly need to feel it!

Many people don't understand the power of thoughts, because they live every day on autopilot, doing most things out of habit, and therefore they create their reality unconsciously, as if they’re wearing a blindfold. But whether we’re aware of it or not, we create our reality with our thoughts and behaviour - and this means we have the power to choose to be a conscious, mindful creator and change our reality to what we really want it to be. Remember, you choose your thoughts, you choose your behavior, you choose the outcome. And every choice you make determines how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Now, let me ask you this: How do you start your day? Is it with gratification and happiness—or doom and gloom? A day is easily ruined if started by holding onto negativity and resentment. So when you wake tomorrow, ask yourself, do I want to think and act like I did yesterday, or do I choose to be a new me today?

Never Beg, Plead or Cling...

Never beg, plead or cling for the people to stay with you especially in relationships, the door is open, if it is meant to happen it will happen, if not the door is open they can leave, the right people in the right moment will enter your life and never leave, while the wrong people will leave.

Life will force you to walk away from the people that you thought were the right people for you, it will take you serious guts to walk away, it’s easier to stay then to walk especially from those types of individuals that you really love and care or you thought they were different while they were not; know the fact that you can’t really go against your destiny neither change it, so eventually you will have to learn the hard truth of walking away sometimes which will be the hardest thing for you.

Know one thing in life ~ ’’God will give you the people that you need and deserve, not the ones that you want’’. Always forgive the people that have hurt you however never forget what they did to you. Why do you need to forgive them? So you can simply shift your valued time and energy from those people to someone new who deserves it so you won’t have anything to do with them anymore. Forgiving shows maturity and growth; however you are going to never forget, because you should cherish and learn from the mistakes, so that you never repeat them.

Book Review #95 : Then The Door Bell Rang

Book Title: Then The Door Bell Rang 

Author: Capri Jalota 

Number of pages : 395 

Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Private Limited 

ISBN-10: 9352019504 

ISBN-13: 978-9352019502 

The book consists of 395 pages which is quite a good number to intimidate someone. But the start had the magic, the author Capri Jalota has made sure the first 100 pages to be so captivating that the reader is anxious to read the rest.

A book, simply based on one’s life itself is something that the reader can treat themselves with as a break from thrillers, romance and everything else.

The intriguing plot with twists and turns at unexpected time helps the readers to hook up with the book till the end. The first person narration helps us to go with the flow of the book. The characters are sketched well. The usage of simple words and lucid language helps to maintain coherence throughout the book.

The title of the book 'Then the door bell rang' is a little long, but indicates the reader that the story could be a mystery. The book cover could have been better and relatable to the plot.

The book revolves around the story of the protagonist Jane who was deprived of love and care from her early days. Though her parents cared for her, they failed to show it to their daughter which brought out serious depression in the lil girl. And later when destiny separates her from her loved one, she was left with no hope to live.

What works for TTDBR is the way the author brings in new characters, keeping the flow of the book alive. From the deceased Uday, Jane’s husband, whose personal diary brings with it, a fair share of worms and heart aches, to his doting parents and her relationship with them which only grows after Uday’s death, to the surprising paramour Rahul, who is but a fleeting presence, a phantom whom Jane chases for the first half of the week to other characters, nurses, best friends, a supportive boss, strangers who become more than family and so on.

And yet what prevails is a sense of death throughout. It almost seems that death itself is the protagonist who is taking the plot forward. Mortality pervades through the novel, as each death takes the protagonist further in her search (for answers, truth, life?) across borders.

Time travel with the protagonist from the beginning till the end is a mixture of emotions, relationships and feelings. Though the content mostly deals with human emotions, the presentation was good with suspense as a main ingredient.

This book is a very good example of fiction where the author has weaved the story of a lady and different phases of her life which she has gone through. Story line is full of ups and down which keeps you excited and concerned till the end. Few scenes are created very dramatic. You flow with the book and started sharing joy and sorrow with the characters, which is the actual beauty of the book.

What I liked in the book:
1. The writing style is very lucid and uncomplicated.
2. Loved the way Uday proposes to Jane, the poetry was very good,
3. There were many beautiful lines and quotes in the narrative. There were some really good quotes that I would keep re reading.

What I didn’t like:
I feel that the story could have been tighter and crisp, needs to be more stringent editing. Too much description and many events that did not help in the progress of the story very much. I couldn’t understand why one chapter was Jane’s diary entry when the whole story was told in Jane’s POV in first person.

Overall Verdict - This book is about love, loss, pain, fears, remorse, and friendship. The book begins with Jane standing in her balcony, contemplating her life. I loved reading Jane’s journey full of more downs than ups. It is filled with so many unfortunate incidents that is too much to bear for any individual. My heart went out for her each time. I would recommend this book to those who would like to read realistic life stories filled with highs and lows.

Rating : 4/5

Things About Life!

These are the things I observed about life in past few months -

• 1. Keep working on yourself. Rewards will come with time. Patience is the key.
• 2. Keep your priorities straight. Don't work 9–5 for a company and sleep after getting    back home. Instead work diligently towards your calling.
• 3. Your inner voice somehow knows what is good for you. Trust that voice.
• 4. Life is not fair. I understand you all know this. But, don't expect it to be fair anytime. It will deceive you the moment you trust it.
• 5. Have faith. Despite all the odds, have faith.
• 6. First help yourself. It's not bad to think about yourself. Help others, but first help yourself.
• 7. Procrastination won't get you too far. We all have a habit of dallying subconsciously. This won't get you anywhere. Buckle up.
• 8. Failures will come. Despite all the hard work, you can still fail. In such a case, don't get disheartened. Rather, start again. It's arduous, but you are more audacious.
• 9. People will leave. The one whom you confide in today, can leave in unexpected ways tomorrow. Don't beg anyone to stay.
• 10. People will try to bring you down. Build a wall around yourself and be secluded so that no external voice shakes your inner faith.